


The Fast Life

by prettylilaccident66



Category: Fast and the Furious Series, The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Genre: F/M, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 00:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2560589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettylilaccident66/pseuds/prettylilaccident66
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexandria Ellis or simply 'Ellie' to her friends joined Dominic's team when she was only 16. She started up a relationship with Leon not long after that. When Brian comes around she doesn't trust him but that's nothing unusual, she doesn't trust many. But she trusts Dom and if Dom trusts someone so can she, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work in this category. My original female character may seem a bit Mary Sue but I'm working on making them a lot less like that but with the definition so broad it's hard. So if you don't like Original Female Characters, I understand, and please don't read. I would appreciate any suggestions on improving this story.

Prologue 

A map was spread out on the kitchen table late one night and a small group of five people were gathered around it. A sixth soon joined them with beers in her hands.  
“This has got to be flawless, guys,” Dom told them. “Any ideas?” 

A petite blonde with wide doe brown eyes. “These are eight wheelers right?” she asked.

Dom nodded. “Yeah. What are you thinking?” 

“Well, remember those harpoon guns that I was working on the other day with Jesse?” she asked, looking over at them. “We can use them. Look, the windshields of these bad boys are designed just like ours, right? If one of use hits it with the arrow then we can pull the windshield out.” 

“How does that help us get the profit from the back, Ellie?” Vince asked, looking at her. 

“Let her talk,” Dom said. “I think she might be onto something.” 

Ellie looked around at them before continuing. She placed a spool of wire down on the table. “This wire is the strongest stuff they got on the market today. According to Einstein over here." She waved a hand at her best friend. "After the windshield on the passenger side is pulled out we shoot off another arrow into the seat or whatever is stable enough to hold the weight.” 

“Wait, hold up,” Dom said stopping her. “So basically when Vince and I drive in front of the big rig why you guys keep it centered on the road. Vince can use this device thing to get into the cab, then what?” 

“Then he uses one of these.” She sets a tranquilizer gun down on the table. “To knock out the driver long enough for us or Vince to drive it to another location where we unload the product into your boy's containers and blow outta there before the dude wakes up.” 

Mia picked up the rifle to look at it. “So you're just gonna knock him out? Why not just threaten him with a gun and tell him to drive to our location. Then we unload the product and blow outta there?”  
“Any number of things could go wrong with that plan, Mia,” Letty said. 

“The driver could wrestle Vince for the gun and it goes off either killing the driver or Vince. Either one would be bad,” Dom said.

“If a death occurs during the commission of a crime, that’s a felony, and that’s life in prison without parole. If not the death penalty if you got an ADA running for District Attorney in the fall,” Ellie added. “This way he can’t ID us or Vince. Not that he would be able to because Vince’s face will be covered. That is key.” 

Letty was looking at the map. “We can’t use our cars for this guys. They’d be too noticeable.” 

Dom nodded. “Letty’s right we’re gonna need four cars that can blend into our surroundings once we’re clear.”

“But they’ll also have to be fast and easy to handle,” Ellie added, perching herself on Leon’s knee. 

“And a neutral color like silver or something,” Leon added. 

“Nah, black would be better,” Vince corrected. “It would easier to hide at night when we’re gonna be hitting these things.” 

“What kind of car are you think about Dom? Impalas or something?” Ellie asked. 

Dom looked at the little blonde again. “What’s the most used type of car in LA, Jesse?" 

“Figure in all the things we’re gonna need. Agility and horse power. I would have to say a Honda Civic would be our best bet. They’re the most popular car this year with all the eco fools running around,” Jesse said.  
Dom smirked. “Do you know any body who can get their hands on four jet black Honda Civics, Ellie? You’ve made quite a few friends since you dropped out of collage.” 

“I made very few friends in collage, what are you talking about? Let me talk to Jamaal and see what he can do for us. He owes me a favor anyway.” 

“Why?” Jesse asked, narrowing his eyes at his foster sister.

Ellie glanced over at him. “Let's just say he owes me big time."

Jesse gave her a suspicious look. “Do I want to know?” 

The others all shook their heads. Leon clapped him on the back. “You should know by now, Jess, that you're better off not knowing what's going on behind those brown eyes." 

*~*~*~*~*

Three black Hondas went speeding after a eight wheeler on a deserted highway in the middle of the night. Two of the three cars veered off to the right of truck. While one went left and the other was tailgating it. 

The car in the lead pulled out in front of the truck and a man popped out of the sun roof with a harpoon gun in his hand, wearing all black, with a black Motocross helmet on, covering his face. He shot off the harpoon gun and took out the windshield.

The truck was swerving trying to get away but the cars blocked his escape. 

The car on the right pulled up and another similar person popped out of the sun roof. They aimed a harpoon at the seat and shot it off. He hooked the wire to his harness and jumped onto the front of the truck. He climbed into the cab. 

Ellie was riding with Letty on the left hand side of the truck. “Leon, what are those scanners telling ya?” 

“We’re still good to go,” he replied from the rear of the trailer. 

“Did you get that Dom?” she asked. 

“Yeah, I got it.” 

The truck was swerving all over the road. “What the hell is Vince doin’?” Letty asked, swerving to avoid being run over by the truck.  
They blew through several orange cones that signaled road construction up ahead. Vince must have control of the truck because it was no longer swerving around.

“Road construction straight a head,” Ellie informed Leon. “Letty, you better be ready to pull some slick shit, mama.” 

Letty looked up a head and saw that the road narrowed out to a single lane. “Shit. V, keep her steady. I need to go under.” 

“Copy that.” 

Once she heard that she swerved her car under the trailer and rode at the pace that Vince was keeping as the passed the construction crew working the graveyard shift. 

As soon as she was clear she pulled back out on the left hand side. “Okay, Vince, speed her up. I’m clear.” 

“Leon, what’s it look like?” Dom asked.

“We’re all clear, Dom,” he replied.

"Let's get this stuff unloaded before the sun rises," Dom said.


	2. Macho El Macho

Ellie’s ’94 Midnight Purple Skyline turned the corner to head towards the Market that her family owns. She was following behind Letty, Leon, Vince with Jesse right on her bumper. 

They went everywhere like this, together, like a team or a family. 

She turned the corner a little sharper then she meant too but she maintained control of her car. 

She pulled up in front of the market, the market or Cafe, depending on who you asked.

Ellie got out of her car, pulling up the hems of her faded green cargo pants that had rode down while she was driving. Stepping up onto the curb, Letty got out of her car to follow her. 

Leon got out of his yellow skyline and look at her. “Hey Elle, you gotta watch yourself on those corners, girl. You damn near lost control of your car,” he said. 

She looked at him through the dark tint of her sunglasses. “My skills are solid, daddy. If I were you I’d be more worried about my own.” 

Vince got out of his Nissan Maxima. “Talk to me, Jesse. This ain’t workin’ brother.” 

“It’s your fuel map. It’s got a nasty hole,” Jesse replied, shutting his door and walking over to Vince’s car. “That’s why you’re unloading in third.” 

“I told you it was third,” Leon said.

“Shut up,” Vince retorted.

Ellie sighed and rubbed Leon's back through the fabric of his shirts. He looked at her and smiled before kissing her on the forehead.

They all gathered around Vince’s car as Jesse leaned under it. “I lengthened the injection pulse another millisecond and just tune the NOS timer, you’ll run nines," he explained. Ellie still marveled at Jesse's knowledge of cars and engines. One looked and he could tell you what was wrong. She was proud to say that Jesse literally taught her everything she knows about what's under the hood of her car.

Vince wasn’t paying any attention to Jesse, instead, he was looking out across the parking lot. He grabbed Jesse’s head and turned it in the same direction. Ellie looked over and pulled her sunglasses down slightly to see a red pick-up truck. She sighed, that was trouble. 

Vince released Jesse with a rub on the head and turned towards the store. “What’s up with this fool? What is he, sandwich crazy?” 

Ellie looked into the store and saw Mia talking with the same blonde guy that had been coming to the store for the last three weeks or so.

“Nah, V. He ain’t here for the food, dog,” Leon said, as they stepped back up on the curb. Ellie rolled her eyes and followed them. Leave it to Leon to say something to stupid just now and rile Vince up even more.

“Chill out, bro. He’s just slingin’ parts for Harry, man,” Letty defended.

“I know what he’s slingin’,” Vince replied as they walked into the story.

“He’s tryin’ to get in Mia’s pants, dog,” Leon stated.

He yelped when a hand shot out and swatted him in the back of the head. “Shut up, Le.” 

Mia smiled when she saw them. “What’s up, guys?” 

“Hey Mia,” she greeted, as she walked by with the guys right behind her. She walked up to the open office door in the back. “Hey Dom!” she called loudly before going over to the cooler for something cold to drink. He showed no signs that he even heard her but that wasn't unusual. When Dom was back in his office the entire building could explode around him and he wouldn't even look up. It was like he was in the zone or something.

She bounced over to where Jesse and Leon were standing eating chips. She reached into the bag and got a few for herself. “What are you guys doin’?” 

Jesse pointed towards the counter where Vince had sat down with the blonde guy. They were currently engaged in a staring contest. “Macho el macho,” she muttered, popping a chip into her mouth. 

“Ah, he’s beautiful,” Jesse said.

“I like his hair cut,” Leon stated. 

“I think that’s the problem, guys,” she said, reaching into the bag for another chip. 

“What that he has nice hair?” Jesse asked in confusion.

Ellie rolled her eyes. “No, Jesse. That he’s obviously much better lookin’ then Vince.” 

Leon looked down at her with a sad look. “Not better lookin’ then me, right?” 

She looked up at him and flashed him a smile. “Of course not, daddy.” 

His arm came down around her like a vise grip and hauled her up to him. “Good.” His kissed her hard on the mouth.

They only parted when they heard the sounds of gagging and Ellie twisted around to look at Jesse. “I like it better when you two are fighting. This lovey-dovey shit really turns my stomach," he said. 

“So don’t watch,” Ellie retorted, running her hand along Leon’s ribcage.  
Jesse made a face at her and she smiled at him. She and Jesse had always been close. They met because they were in the same foster home. Jesse aged out of the system before she did and he took her with him when he left. Her last foster home wasn't the best and she didn't want to go back to the Group Home. They looked out for each other just as much now as they did then.  
She turned her attention back to the counter and saw the blonde guy stand up from the counter. He tossed some money down. “Thanks a lot, Mia. See ya tomorrow.” 

He walked out and Vince looked like a cross between shocked and seriously pissed. “Tomorrow?” he muttered.

“Oh, I love this part,” Leon said.

“Yo!” Vince shouted.

Ellie groaned softly pulled away from him and went over to where Letty was standing. She opened her soda and shook her head. “One day Vince’s ego is goin’ to get him into trouble.”  
Letty nodded. “He needs to chill.” 

The sounds of shouting and scuffling feet out in the parking lot made their heads whip around to look. Vince was wrestling around with the blonde guy. 

“Like I’ve said countless times, macho el macho,” Ellie said, removing her sunglasses and placing them on the top of her head.

Mia ran from what she was doing to see what was going on and spun around to face the office. “Jesus Christ, Dom! Would you get out there? I’m sick of this shit!” Dom didn’t look up from his paper work or turn around and Mia got even more angry. “I’m not kidding, Dom! Get out there!” 

Dom stood up from his chair and turned around to look for him self. He leaned up against the doorframe. “What’d you put in that sandwich?” 

“That’s really funny,” Mia retorted.  
“Dom!” Letty exclaimed, her eyes darting towards the parking lot. He sighed. “Alright.” 

He started out into the parking lot with an excited Jesse, Leon and the girls went out last. 

Ellie stood there with her arms folded across her chest as she watched her brother grab the blonde guy off of Vince and throw him into the trunk of her car with a thump. She winced.

“Hey, Dom! That may not be my man, but, that is my car!” she shouted at him. 

The blonde guy was holding his hands up in defense. “Hey man, he was in my face.” 

“I’m in your face,” Dom stated gravely before being shoved out of the way by Vince. “Relax! Don’t push it! You embarrass me!” 

Leon grabbed Vince and shoved him back towards the store. Vince tried to get away, spilling Leon’s chips in the process. Leon shoved him back again. “Get over there! What are you doin’?” 

“Acting like a jackass,” Ellie muttered to herself.  
“Jesse, give me the wallet,” Dom said. He took it and opened it. “Brian Earl Spilner,” Dom read the ID out loud and looked up at the guy. “Sounds like a serial killer name. Is that what you are?” 

“Nah, man,” Brian replied.

“Don’t come around here again,” Dom said, pointing the wallet in his face. 

Brian took the wallet and Dom walked back towards them. 

“Hey, man, you know this is bullshit!” Brian yelled at him.

Ellie closed her eyes and sighed as Dom spun around to face him. “You work for Harry, right?” 

“Yeah. I just started.” 

“You were just fired,” Dom informed him and went back into the store. 

Ellie watched Dom leave and shook her head, before turning back to look at Brian. There was nothing really too special about him. He looked like a beach bum or a surfer. He was handsome and she could see why Mia was interested in him. 

Leon grabbed her arm and started pulling her back inside.


	3. Chapter 3

Ellie was leaning under the hood of her car, changing out some spark plugs, the engine still wasn't acting like it should when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. 

She paused and went stiff for a second before relaxing. “What can I do for you, Leon?” 

“Ride with me to the races tonight.” It wasn't a question, it wasn't a demand, it was just a statement. 

“Why?” she asked, turning around in his arms to look at him. He was so close to her that he was crowding her against the front bumper of her car.

He braced his hands on the car behind her and leaned close to her so their nose brushed together. “Because, you’ll end up havin’ to ditch your car and I’ll end up having to come get you. Why not just skip it and go straight there together?” 

“I got this feeling that you have ulterior motives, but, okay. I need to get more spark plugs to finish replacing them,” she relented. “Has anyone ever told you that you are relenting?” 

“You have, every day since we met,” he replied with a grin. "How else did I get your attention?" 

She rolled her eyes. “That’s quite an ego you got there, Leon.” 

*~*~*~*~*

Letty walked into the room that Ellie shared with Leon and sat down on the bed while watching the other girl get dressed. “You’ve got something against skirts and dresses don’t you?” she asked, eyeing her best friend’s tight, but loose, black pants with the chains, a blue ’n’ black fitted belly shirt and her black boots.

“You know dresses aren’t my thing, Letty,” she replied, leaning in close to apply her black eyeliner. She had always been a tomboy since she could remember. She did like to look sexy but she could do that with tight pants and shirts. Also she wore as little makeup as humanly possible.

She saw Letty shaking her head in the mirror. “I can barely handle a simple brown pencil and you can go through a bottle of liquid black in a month.” 

Ellie rolled her eyes and set the bottle back on the dresser. She and Letty had hit it off the second they met. Letty had really brought the shy girl out of her shell and discovered they were alike in many ways but different in a lot of others. Letty’d had a thing for Dom since they were in middle school. Whereas Ellie never even really dated anyone until she met Leon when she was 16. 

She had always admired Letty's curves and wished that she had more shape but after she met Leon she realized that she was perfect just the way she was. He told her so on more than one occasion. 

“You always look so good in dark colors,” Letty stated.

“So do you, mama,” Ellie said, turning around to face her, leaning up against the dresser. “Unlike Mia. She's more of a summer I think or maybe a spring." 

It was true, Mia tended to drift towards lighter shades of the rainbow and they looked better on her then they ever did on Ellie or Letty.

Letty rolled her eyes. “What would you know about fashion?"

Ellie put her hand over her heart in mock hurt. “That hurt, Letty.” 

She laughed and put her arm around her shoulders. “Come on, everyone’s down stairs waiting on us.” 

“Okay. Try not to kill any skanks tonight,” Ellie said as they walked downstairs.  
*~*~*~*~*~*

They rode into the meet place in a perfect ‘V’ shape and Ellie sighed. She love going to these things, she never raced but she liked watching, and she loved spending time with Leon while he dispatched. She felt at ease with him. An ease she only ever felt with Jesse. Ellie had a problem with trusting men in the past.

As Leon pulled up into the scene they were greeted like they always were with loud cheers from their fellow racers. 

Ellie got out of the car and immediately received cat calls from the guys. She rolled her eyes and looked over at Leon. He looked a little angry with the guys but it was always hard to tell. Leon rarely ever spoke at these kinds of things except for to her when they were alone in the car and sometimes to the others on their team. He never smiled either and that tended to make guys want to mess with him. That would be a tragic mistake, Leon knew how to fight, he was trained in several different martial arts and could seriously hurt one of them. 

She linked arms with Leon as they met up with Vince and made their way over to where Dom was. 

Letty had just chased off a few blonde skanks that were hanging off of Dom. 

She heard Dom's lame excuse of just talking to them. It made her want to laugh. She knew as well as Letty did that Dom thrived on the attention from the skanks. 

Letty was also known for chasing the skank away from her man. Most stayed away after she threatened to run them over and actually got into her car to do so at time or two. Ellie would be lying if she said that Letty's jealous didn't amuse her on some level. 

“Okay, Hector,” Dom said. 

“Yeah, what’s up, man?” Hector asked, coming out of the crowd to shake his hand. 

“Yo, what’s up?” She looked over and saw Edwin walking over to Dom. 

“Edwin,” Dom greeted, pumping fists with him. 

“How we doin’ this tonight?” Edwin asked.

“One race. 2G buy in. Winner take all,” Dom explained. “Hector, you’re gonna hold the cash.” 

“Why Hector?” an Asian racer asked. 

Ellie smirked. “Because he’s too slow to make away with it.” 

The crowd ‘ohhed’ and Hector laughed sarcastically. "Very funny, Ally."

“You talk a lot for someone who's never won a race,” Edwin said. 

She cocked her head off to the side to study him. “I haven’t won because I've never raced. What’s you’re excuse?” 

The crowd ‘ohhed’ and Edwin waved his arms telling them to shut up. 

Leon wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her up against his chest. She wound her arm up and wrapped it around his bicep, stroking it gently.

“Okay, good luck, guys,” Dom said, smacking them on the arms. 

“Hey, wait. Hold up.” Ellie looked over and saw Brian, the guy from the store earlier, coming through the crowd towards Dom. “I don’t have any cash, but I do have the pink slip to my car.” He held up a slip of paper. 

Ellie snorted and rubbed her cheek against Leon’s arm. 

“Hey, you just can’t climb into the ring with Ali ‘cause you think you box,” Jesse told him. 

“He knows I can box,” Brian said, pointing. Ellie looked down at saw Vince sitting on the bumper of his car. “So check it out. It’s like this. I lose, the winner takes my car clean and clear. But if I win, I take the cash, and I take the respect.” 

“Respect,” Dom said and everyone laughed. 

“To some people that’s more important,” Brian said.

Dom gave him an assessing look. “That your car?” he asked, pointing at a neon green Eclipse parked behind them. 

Jesse popped the hood and everyone started gasping. Jesse leaned under the hood. “I see a cool air in take. It’s got a NOS bogger system and a T4 turbo, Dominic. I see an AIC controller. It has direct port nitrous injection.”

“Yeah, and a stand alone fuel management system,” Dom said. “Not a bad way to spend $10,000.” 

Ellie got curious and slipped out of Leon’s grasp. She walked over, gently pushing Jesse out of the way to take a look for herself. She chuckled at what she saw and turned to Dom. “He’s got a brass set on him, Dom. There’s enough NOS in this thing to blow him to Venus.” 

“Yeah,” he agreed. She slipped past him to go back to Leon. 

“So, what do you say? Am I worthy?” Brian asked.

“We don’t know yet. But you’re in,” Dom said. “Let’s go.” 

Ellie started to walk back to Leon’s car when there was a slap on her ass that made her spin around. “LEON!” He laughed as he dodged her slaps and ran for the cover of his car.  
She got in after him and turned toward him in the seat. “I’m gonna get you for that later.” 

He flashed her a grin as he started the car and followed the others to the scene of the race. 

She pulled one leg up towards her and leaned it up against the door. She watched the city lights pass them by as hyper speed with a bored expression. 

He glanced over at her. “I don't see why you don't race, Ally. You're good enough to beat the pants off Edwin?” 

She shrugged. “I don't know. I guess I'm just not feeling it yet.” 

“That’s not an answer, Ally.” 

She huffed and looked over at him. “Why does it matter?” 

Leon sighed heavily. He knew that with a mind as complex hers she had a lot of problems keeping them a straight and calming her mind down so she could relax. 

“Ellie, I can’t help you sort out all those thoughts that are going through your head if you don’t talk to me,” he said gently. 

“I wanna get out of here,” she stated, bluntly and turning towards him in the seat.

“What do you mean? You want to leave the race?” he asked in surprise. He was so surprised that he almost hit the car in front of them because he wasn’t paying attention. 

He slammed on the brakes and threw them both forward. “Jesus Christ!” Ellie exclaimed, glaring at him. “We’ll talk more later where you can’t get us killed!” 

Leon decided to leave the matter lie and not push her, something that Ellie was grateful for. 

They arrived at the scene and Leon parked in the center of the cross street. 

The sound of screeching tires made her head snap in Leon’s direction and leaned past him to see a pizza delivery truck. The guy inside got out. “What the hell’s goin’ on around here?” he demanded.

Leon leaned out the open window. “Street’s closed, pizza boy. Find another way home.” 

“God damn street racers,” he said loudly while getting back in his car.

Leon started messing around with the knobs on his scanners and Ellie leaned back into the cushioned leather seat. She liked spending time with Leon like this when it was just the two of them. 

It didn’t happen anywhere near as often as she’d like. There was always someone around demanding their attention. Sometimes at night they used to sneak out and go to the beach. There they would talk or make out and sometimes they’d just lay on the hood of his car in complete silence. 

Those nights happened less now because of the teams late night ‘activities’ that had been involved with. There was no time or energy to do that anymore and she missed her time alone with Leon.

Leon was listening to the radio intently, turning the volume knob so he could hear the calls better. 

“We had a reported homicide, 187 at Barabian Liquors,” the dispatcher reported.

He grabbed his radio from the cup holder. “I’ve got a 187 in Glendale. Cops are all over it, man. We’re good to roll. I repeat, good to roll. Let’s race!” 

Ellie reached out with her right hand and placed it on Leon’s upper leg. Her finger nails started gently picking at the seam of his jeans, a nervous tick of hers. As long as she could remember the act always brought her comfort.

She tipped her head back against the head rest and closed her eyes. She felt mentally exhausted and now that the thoughts in her head had finally given her a moments peace she should cease the opportunity to doze off for a second. She couldn't help but wonder who had ADD worse, hers or Jesse, sometimes. She only came around for a second when she felt something warm cover her body. She opened her eyes for a second just in time to see Leon covering her up with the leather jacket that he had retrieved from the back seat. 

It was the spare he always kept on hand in his backseat. She closed her eyes again and drifted off only to be woken up again by Leon shouting. “Oh, shit! We got cops, cops, cops! Go!”

Ellie barely had time to sit up fully in her seat before Leon had began to drive and she was thrown back into her seat with a soft gasp. 

Leon glanced over at her and let out a breathy chuckle. “You awake now, Princess?” 

She blinked her eyes a couple of times as Leon weaved in and out between cars on the busy street. “Oh yeah. Wide awake now.” 

She rubbed her eyes and twisted around in her seat to look behind them, checking for any cops that were on their tail. 

“Anyone following us, Princess?” Leon asked, jerking the wheel sharply to turn a corner onto a side street.

“Nah, we’re in the clear, daddy.” She turned back around to face the dashboard. “Let’s get back home before they find us.”


	4. Chapter 4

Ellie and Leon arrived back at the house a few seconds before the others did. They got out of the car and walked towards the front door. He reached out and took her hand, interlacing their fingers, as they walked up the stairs. 

Leon removed his black jacket and his beanie, chucking them into a corner as they walked into the living room. He collapsed into a chair in front of the TV. Ellie came in with a Corona in her hand, she handed it to him, and sat down in his lap. 

She wrapped one arm around his shoulders and her hand rubbed his chest gently. He sipped his beer and laid his arm in her lap. 

Guests started arriving for a party at the house. Ellie had no idea who sent the word out that there was a party here tonight, then again, no one ever did. People tended just to show up, chill, and clear out right before dawn.

Jesse came in acting like he was hyped up on cocaine and ran over to them. “Wasn’t that intense?! Man, they showed up so fast and chased us all over!” 

As quickly as he arrived he took off again after some girl who just arrived. Ellie watched him go and shook her head. “We’ve got to watch that boy’s sugar and caffeine intake. He’s hyperactive enough without it.” 

Leon chuckled again and pulled her back against his chest. His hand ran down her back and his lips met her neck. She giggled softly as his beard and mustache tickled her skin. “Le.” 

“You smell nice. Is that new perfume you’re wearing?” he asked, kissing just under her ear. 

“No, it’s the same brand I always use.” 

“Well, don’t you two look cozy?” Letty teased, laying down on the floor to play the video game. 

Ellie turned slightly to look down at her friend. “Has anyone seen Dom?” 

Letty shook her head. “You know him. He takes his dear sweet time.” 

She frowned. It wasn't like Dom to be this late back from the races and she hadn't seen the other two either.

“What about Vince and Mia?” 

“Mia’s upstairs and Vince is entertaining some blonde bimbo in the corner back there.” Letty jerked her chin towards the far side of the living room. 

Ellie just shook her head and twisted back around to look at Leon. “Maybe we should go out and look for him.” 

Leon wrapped his arm around her waist and held her tighter. “C’mon baby, give it a little while longer. I feel like I haven’t seen you in days.” 

Ellie’s heart softened as he kissed the side of her neck again. She had to agree it had been awhile since she was able to just sit in his lap without a care in the world and without worrying about being interrupted. 

She gave into Leon’s advances and tipped her head back to give him more access. She giggled softly as his lips played over her skin. “Le, that tickles.” 

He nipped gently at her skin and chuckled softly. 

Ellie pulled away from him with a smile before going in to kiss his neck gently, knowing which spots were his most sensitive, like the spot just below his ear. She noticed Leon tensing and stopped what she was doing to listen.

“Yo, Dom. Hey, man. We were just about to go lookin’ for you, brotha,” Leon defended. 

Ellie lifted her head up just in time to see her big brother, for all intensive purposes, knock Leon’s beer out of his hand. “Jesus Christ, Dom!” she shouted angrily after him as he stormed over to where Vince was sitting.

“Where were you?” Dom asked him.

“There were mass cops there. They came in from every direction. Their shit was orchestrated,” Vince defended.

“This your beer?” Dom asked, pointing at a beer on the table beside him.

“Yeah, that’s my beer,” he replied.

Dom picked it up and started back towards them. Leon slipped out from under Ellie, placing her down in the chair, and stood in front of her. He was protecting her like he always did.

She heard the front door open and peeked around Leon to see who had come in. Much to her surprise, it was Brian. She could see that Leon was visibly more tense now. 

Leon was even more protective of her and didn’t like men that he didn’t know to be around her. Plus the fact that Brian had a bad history with Vince didn’t help matters any. 

“You alright?” Letty asked Dom.

“Am I alright?” he asked her like she had just insulted him.

“It was just a question,” she said, defensively.

“Yo, Dom! Why’d you bring the busta here?” Vince asked angrily. 

Ellie sighed, leave it to Vince to ask the exactly wrong question at the exactly wrong moment in time.

Dom spun around on the spot to face him. “’Cause the busta kept me outta handcuffs! He didn’t just run back to the fort! The busta brought me back.” 

Leon was standing tense a few feet away from Brian. Ellie was starting to like the way it was looked even less, if Brian even so much as twitched, Leon might actually lunge. She slowly stood up from her chair and walked up behind him. “Daddy. Daddy, come on.” She gently tugged on his arm to get him to sit down but he wouldn’t budge. “Let’s sit back down.”

Dom walked over to Brian with two Coronas in his hands. “You can have any brew you want-as long as it’s a Corona.” He offered him one of the beers. 

“Thanks, man,” Brian said, taking the one that Vince had. 

“That’s Vince’s, so enjoy it,” Dom said and looked back over in Vince’s direction. He looked about ready to explode.

Ellie looked over at Brian as he wiped the top of the beer off with the hem of his shirt and took a long sip. He had balls and she had to admire that. Not many people would stand up to Vince, even with Dom standing right there. This guy had brass ones for sure.

She renewed her focus on getting Leon to leave the room with her. She did not want this to end in another fight. She grasped his arm with both hands and gently tugged on it, trying to pull him back to the chair. Leon seemed about ready too until Brian disappeared upstairs and Dom sat down in a chair. 

Vince came storming across the room to join them and she groaned, there was noway she'd be able to get Leon away now. 

Vince leaned down close to Dom. “He’s got no call bein’ up in here. You don’t know that fool for shit.”

“Yeah, he’s right Dom,” Leon agreed. 

Ellie groaned and pressed her forehead against his arm. Silently willing him to move.  
“Vince, there was a time when I didn’t know you,” Dom reminded him.

“That was in the third grade,” Vince said loudly, rubbing Dom’s head. 

“Yeah, so what girls are here?” Dom asked.

“Ho! You just name it,” Leon said, waving his arms around and Ellie’s head shot up. Her soulful brown eyes grew hard with anger and Leon failed to notice. “You want two?” 

Letty shoved him back. “You need to shut the fuck up. You just dug yourself into a deep hole.” She sent a pointed look in Ellie's and Leon turned around to look at her. 

She was standing there with her arms folded across her chest and she looked nothing short of pissed. He gulped as he studied her at a complete loss for words. He had broken their one silent rule: he could look at any girl he wanted, as long as she didn’t know about it. 

She turned on her heel and walked out the front door, slamming it behind her. 

He ran a hand down over his face and sighed. 

“You should probably go after her and apologize.” He looked up and saw Dom looking at him with a serious expression that clearly said he wasn't making a suggestion.

Leon sighed before grabbing his jacket and heading out the door. 

He didn’t have to go far to find her, she only walked down the street and sat up on one of the brick walls. She had her arms wrapped around herself to hold off the nighttime chill. Her eyes were staring straight ahead and hadn’t moved but he knew she saw him approach her. 

He removed his jacket and held it up to her. “Here, before you freeze.” 

She took the jacket and covered her bare arms up with it. She was still refusing to meet his steady gaze even after he moved in between her legs. With her sitting up on the wall it put her at exactly his eye level. He put his hands on her hips and she didn’t even react. 

“C’mon girl. I was only messin’ around. You know I wasn’t paying the least little bit of attention to one of those girls there. Other than you,” he said, stroking her bare midriff with his thumbs. 

She finally looked at him and he could swear that those eyes of hers could see right into his very soul. He pulled her closer to him. “C’mon, let’s go back home. We can go upstairs and spend sometime together. Just you and me.” 

“No more bullshit?” 

He nodded. “No more bullshit tonight.” 

She nodded and let him lift her up off the wall, placing her gently down on the sidewalk. He took her hand and started leading her back towards the house. “I’m still mad at you," she stated absently.

He stopped abruptly and spun her around to face him. He looked her directly in the eye. “I’m sorry. Okay? I’m sorry.” 

She leaned up and kissed him. “Okay. C’mon, daddy. You still owe me a massage.” She grabbed his hand and started pulling him back towards the house.

Leon chuckled and allowed her to pull him down the sidewalk. Once they hit the front steps he yanked her back towards him. She laughed out loud as her stumbled into his body. 

A movement at Mia’s car made her twist around to see who it was. “Yo, where you two headin’?” she called to Mia and Brian.

“I’m taking Brian home, Elle,” she replied, rolling her eyes. 

Leon grabbed her from behind and started pulling her towards the stairs. She laughed. “Hey guys, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” 

Mia snorted. “That doesn’t leave very much, Ally.” 

Ellie laughed sarcastically and looked at Brian. “Take care of Dom's sister, Spilner. If anything happens to her you’ll have to answer to me.” 

Leon laughed and continued to pull her backwards up the stairs. “I wouldn’t piss her off if I was you, man. She's a vicious one."


	5. Chapter 5

Ellie was bent under the hood of a car that Dom was having her work on when she heard the beeping of a truck being backed up in front of the garage. She looked up and saw a burned out Toyota Supra on the back of a flat bed. “What the hell?” 

She set her wrench aside and walked over towards it with her arms folded across her chest. Dom was already standing there. “Alright, what the hell is this? What do ya got there?” 

Brian got out of the truck and smiled at him. “This is your car.” 

“My car?” Dom asked in amusement as Jesse walked over and hit the side fender. Ellie braced her hand on Jesse's shoulder and jumped up on the flat bed to get a better look. “I said a 10 second car, not a 10 minute car.” 

“You could push this across the finish line or tow it,” Jesse said.

“Man, you couldn’t even tow this bitch across the finish line,” Ellie stated, leaning across the hood and smirked at Brian. 

Brian looked around at them. “No faith.” 

“Oh, I got faith in you. But this isn’t a junk yard, it’s a garage,” Dom said, waving his hand around him.

“Hey, pop the hood,” Brian said to Ellie.

“Pop the hood?” Dom repeated.

“Pop the hood,” Brian insisted.

Dom looked over at Jesse and Ellie. “Alright, you two heard the man, pop the hood.” 

They moved the car from the flat bed into the garage. Ellie got 2 crowbars and handed one to Jesse. All it really took was one so she just stood back and watched Einstein work. They both took a look under the hood at the same time. It was surprisingly intact.

“A 2JZ engine, no shit!” Jesse exclaimed as they looked under.

“What did I tell you?” Brian asked.

“I retract my previous statement,” Dom said.

Ellie looked over at Jesse and he looked back at her. “You know what? This will wipe away the competition after you sink about 15 grand into it. Maybe more if we have to and, uh, over night the parts from Japan," Jesse told Dom.

Dom nodded. “Alright, guys. Put it on my tab at Harry’s.” 

“Yes,” Ellie and Jesse said together and leaned back under the hood. 

“Alright, Jesse. Get me a list over everything that we need ASAP. I’ll run it over to Harry’s later. I got some errands to run,” Ellie said, smacking him on the shoulder. 

It was part of Ellie's job description to run parts lists to Harry's. She didn't mind doing it. They all did their parts. Mia would balance the books for both the garage and the Cafe. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

Ellie walked into Harry’s later on that afternoon. “Hey Harry, I got a big order for ya.” 

The older man looked up and nodded. “What do you got for me, Ellie?” 

She handed him the list that Jesse had given her earlier. “Over night it for me. I needed this shit yesterday and Dom’s been riding my ass.” 

“And who’s paying for all this?” Harry asked, eyeing her carefully. He didn't like fronting parts to just anyone because sometimes they skipped town without paying him but that was never Dom's style. He always paid off his debts.

“Put it on Dom’s tab, you know that he’s good for it. Have a great day, Harry,” she said and left the store. 

Her cell phone rang. “Talk to me, Jamaal. Tell me something that I want to hear.” 

“You’re a sex goddess, sculpted straight out of the heavens,” Jamaal replied with his thick Jamaican accent. 

She laughed as she started her car. Always the flirtatious one. She had met Jamaal when she was in high school. They were even in the same foster home for a little while. His father was in prisoner doing 25 to life for murder and his mother disappeared. Something both she and Jesse had in common with him. Now Jamaal was deep into the trafficking stolen goods. “How about something I don’t already know.” 

Jamaal laughed. “Listen, I got a shopping list for you. Whenever you’re ready.”

“What’s up?” 

“I running low on sound systems, Sony DVD players, so I’m gonna need about 100 of each and if you can at all swing it the new Play station as many as you can get me.” 

“Okay, anything else?” she asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes. 

“No, that’s it for now. When can I expect a new shipment?” 

“I’ll let you know after I talk to the big guy and see what we got set up,” she replied. “Later.” 

She closed the phone and headed back in the direction of the garage. When she pulled up she saw Leon and Jesse working on taking the engine out of the Supra. They looked up when they heard the door slam. 

“Where have you been?” Leon asked as she walked by.  
“Dropping off a shopping list at Harry’s and catching up with a few people. Where’s Dom?” she asked.

“In the back,” Leon replied, jerking his thumb towards the office. 

Ellie walked back into the office and tossed a slip of paper down on the table in front of him. “What’s this, Ellie?” 

“A shopping list from Jamaal. He’s waiting to hear back about an arrival date,” she replied. “I told him that I needed to talk to you. He’s needs to know ASAP so he can get everything set.” 

Dom nods his head and tucked the list into his pocket. “Let me call my guy. Then you call yours and we’ll get this ball rollin’.” 

“What about Brian?” 

“What about him?” Dom asked with a frown. She gave him a look and Dom groaned. “Not you too.” 

“Look, I'm not like Vince, okay? It's not some screwed up love interest type thing. We just don't know him all that well.” 

She had trust issues and she's be the first one to tell you so. Her best friend Jesse would be the second.

“We ain’t go nothing to worry about, do we? We've been being careful, right?” he asked. 

“Yes we have,” she replied.

“Then we ain’t got nothing to worry about,” he said, squeezing her arm. “You just keep doing what you do and send a list the Hector this time. Brian is just another racer and mechanic that I got paying off a debt, okay?"

Ellie nodded. “You got it.” 

*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry stayed true to his word that the parts would be there the next day and the team went to pick them up. 

Ellie and Leon set to work immediately unpacking boxes, just to make sure nothing was damaged during transport, while Jesse took Brian into the back to show him what his car will look like on the computer. 

“Everything appears to be in good shape, Leon,” she stated as they looked over the parts that were spread out on the table. 

He nodded. “Yeah, now we just need to put the pieces together. I’ll tell you what. You get started on the NOS bogger system and I'll get started on the wiring. Then when Einstein is done we'll get started on the engine."

Ellie nodded. “You got it.” 

She could hear Jesse telling Brian about his ADD and how cars calms him down. Jesse was a smart guy no matter what the teachers at school said. He was a genius when it came to math and computers. Whereas Ellie was lucky if she could turn a computer on without frying the hard drive. Brian thought he was a genius and he was right.

Jesse laughed. “I’m not a genius, man. I’m good at math and numbers but Alex, she can speak in five different languages, and she can draw like no one I've ever seen before."

She rolled her eyes. It wasn't art that she did they were just silly doodles that she did when she was bored and as far as her speaking five different languages, that was a bit of an exaggeration. She could speak Spanish, some French and a little bit of German but she wasn't some kind of language guru like Jesse described. 

"Who's Alex?" Brian asked in confusion.

“Alex, Ellie, you know?” Jesse asked. “The cute little blonde that’s standing right over there.” He pointed out the door.

She looked over and saw Brian look at her for a few moments before pointing at her. “That’s Alex?” 

Jesse nodded. “Yeah, I met her because we were in the same Foster Home for awhile. When I aged out of the system she ran away with me. The foster home wasn't the greatest. We look out for each other. She may seem cold but she'll warm up once you get to know her. Then you'll see she just as crazy as I am."

“Watch it, Einstein,” Ellie called over to them but she was smiling. "I'm no more crazy then the rest of the looneys in this garage."

She still didn’t trust Brian but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be nice to him. After all he'd never done anything to hurt her or anyone else as far as she could tell. If Dom trusted him why shouldn't she? Brian got up and walked over to her. She smiled and held out her hand. "We've never been properly introduced, and Dom sometimes forgets to introduce everyone, I'm Alexandria Ellis but everyone calls me Ellie." 

Brian nodded. “So you’re an artist?” 

Ellie had to laugh. “I wouldn’t go that far, but, I do doodle whenever I'm bored.” 

Jesse snorted from his tiny cubbyhole and picked up one of her sketch books. "Bullshit, here look for yourself. She's always been modest." 

"Oh, Jesse, don't show him that," she groaned.

Brian took the book and started flipping through it. "These a pretty good. Why don't you do body work here at the garage?" 

She sighed. "Because, they aren't good enough to put on any cars. They're just doodles, man." 

"They aren't 'just doodles'," Jesse insisted. "I wouldn't mind having one on my car." 

Ellie took the book from Brian's hands and closed it before turning to her best friend. "You're so bias, Jesse. They aren't that good." 

"I think you're selling yourself, short, Alex," Brian said. 

She looked over at him and studied his face. He seemed like a great guy but he didn't understand that she didn't want to be put out there and have her so-called art out on public display. She always had a problem being the center of attention, she would much rather be in the shadows where no one could judge her, she hated feeling like she was being judged. 

She smiled at Brian. "Thanks for the vote of confidence but I don't think they're that good."


	6. Chapter 6

Dom had sent Ellie, Letty, Leon and Vince to the grocery store for the rest of the supplies for the BBQ that they were having that day. 

They had divided up the list and went their separate ways to get what they were told. 

Ellie was grabbing things and tossing them into the cart. This was routine, she didn’t need a list to know what was needed. Leon came down the bread aisle towards her with two twelve packs of Corona under in his hands. 

“We didn’t need beer, daddy. We some in the fridge at home. As a matter of fact, that’s ALL that’s in our fridge at home,” she said as he put the beers in the cart. 

“You can never have too much beer, Princess,” he replied.

She rolled her eyes as they headed towards Check-out. 

The four friends walked outside with their hands loaded down with bags. “I think we got enough food to feed an army for a week,” Ellie said, putting the bags in the passenger seat.  
“Or our family for one meal,” Letty replied. 

“See you at home,” Leon said, getting into his car. 

Ellie drove the streets from the store to home in what could only be described as muscle memory. She pulled up into the driveway ahead of the others and got out of the car. 

She saw Brian standing with Dom in front of the grill. Mia must have went and got him since she didn't see Harry's truck parked in the driveway.

She looked over at Vince and he looked livid. “I’m outta here.” He shoved the bags he was carrying at Leon.

“Come on, dog,” Leon said.

“Come on, V,” Ellie called after him. 

“Vince, get over here and give us a hand,” Dom shouted down the driveway. 

“Looks like you got all the help you need, brother,” he called back, getting into his car. 

The car peeled away down the street. Ellie shook her head and took some of the bags from Leon to take them inside while he got the beer. 

She took the bags inside where Mia was finishing up the salad. “Vince took off.” 

Mia looked over at her. “Why?” 

“’Cause Dom invited Brian and he doesn’t like him too much. Probably because he’s got your attention,” she replied, putting the beers into the fridge. There was an untouched 12 pack on the top shelf. The only other items in fridge was a bunch of Styrofoam containers of leftover takeout food. “We got more beer then we do food in here."

Mia was watching her with a slight frown. “Vince needs to get over this jealousy thing.” 

Ellie shook her head. “Yeah he does it’s pretty stupid to be jealous just because someone else has the attention he’s been tryin’ to get since high school.” 

She started piling corn bread onto a plate. “What do you think about Brian, Alex?” 

She shrugged a single shoulder. “He seems alright. He’s brave, I’ll give him that. Standing up against Vince like that. Why? Thinking about dating him?” 

Mia shrugged. “I don’t know. It has crossed my mind.” 

“I thought you don’t date Dom’s friends,” Ellie teased, putting the last of corn bread onto the plate.

“You didn’t either. What about Leon, huh?” Mia shot back. 

She didn’t get the chance to reply before Brian and Jesse came in to help them carry the dishes of food out. “Here Jess, take the corn bread,” she said, grabbing the bowl of salad from the counter. 

Brian grabbed several beers out of the fridge while Mia pick up a Snapple and a bowl of salsa.

“Mia! Alexandria!” Dom’s voice carried through the open kitchen windows. "Hurry up! This chicken's already dry!"

“Alright already,” Mia called.  
“We’re comin’ out already,” Ellie added, her feet tumbling down over the wooden steps, careful not to spill the salad.

Mia walked over to him and held the Snapple out to him. He wrapped his arm around her in a hug. Then he pulled Ellie into a hug too. 

Ellie set the salad down on the makeshift table and felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. She leaned back into his chest and grabbed onto his strong forearm. "Hey, baby," she greeted.

He kissed her ear. "That looks good." He pointed to the salad. "Just don't expect me to eat any of it." 

She tipped her face up to his. "Oh, you're going to eat some of it, mister. It's not going to kill you."

"It might." 

They all sat down around the table to get ready to eat. Jesse reached into the center of the table and grabbed a piece of chicken. “Hey, hold up,” Dom said. “Because you were the first out of everybody here to reach in to get the chicken, you say grace.” 

Ellie held back a laugh as everyone bowed their heads. She and Jesse weren't raised in very religious households. Unless you counted the second to the last one that swore up and down that Jesse was possessed by the devil because when they went to church and the priest sprinkled holy water on him. Jesse hit the floor and started screaming like he was in pain. Needless to say they didn't stay there very long. “Dear heavenly, uh-” Jesse began.

“Spirit,” Leon offered. 

“Spirit. Thank you,” Jesse said. “Uh, thank you for providing us with direct port nitrous, uh, injection…” 

Ellie suppressed her laughter by lightly kissing Leon’s bare shoulder as Jesse continued. “Four core intercoolers and ball-bearing turbos, and, um, titanium valve springs. Thank you,” he finished.

“Amen!” Leon exclaimed, throwing his hands up and clapping his hands. 

Everyone clapped their hands. 

“Not bad,” Dom said.

“He was prayin’ to the car gods, man,” Letty said. 

“Well, who else do street racer’s pray to?” Ellie asked, putting a corn on the cob on her plate before passing the bowl to Leon. 

Letty passed the rolls over the top of her head to Leon. “Thank you, girl.” He put some on his plate and hers, planting a kiss on her temple. 

She looked up and saw Vince coming up the driveway. She nudged Leon with her elbow, making him look over. “Look who it is. Old Coyotes ‘R’ Us.” He let out a deep chuckle. “I thought you weren’t hungry, pumpkin.” 

“You know, I gotta eat,” Vince replied. 

“He’s always hungry,” Letty stated.

“And he can’t cook without nearly burn the house down,” Ellie added, spooning refried beans onto her plate and passed it to Brian.

“Alright, sit down,” Dom relented.

Vince kissed the back of Dom’s head before making his way over to the empty seat between Ellie and Letty. 

Ellie looked past Leon at Brian, who was opening up another beer. 

Vince kissed the back of her head too in greeting before grabbing Brian’s beer and sitting down. 

Ellie's eyes darted from Brian to Vince, silently praying for a peaceful dinner, and they wouldn’t start a fight here. Nothing happened and she sighed softly. Thank god for small favors. A peaceful family lunch. Maybe having Brian around full time wouldn't be so bad after all. Brian could probably keep Vince's ego in check.

“Hey, Jesse, hand me that chicken, bro,” Leon said, breaking the tension. 

Letty patted Vince on the back of the shoulder. “Let’s eat some grub, man.” 

Leon took the plate of ribs from Letty and put some on his plate then on hers. Their lips locked for a brief second before turning their attention back to their food. 

“So, V, did you a rent a movie or something?” Ellie asked before taking a bit out of her chicken. 

He sighed and ruffled her hair playful. "Yeah, I got something picked out."

*~*~*~*~*

Everyone had settled down to watch the movie Vince brought, minus Mia and Brian were in the living room. It was some Martial Arts movies. Typical male movie but she wasn't complaining.

She was laying on the floor in between Leon and Jesse, watching the movie. Vince was sitting in one chair while her brother and Letty were curled up in the other one. 

It was pretty calm, Leon was toying with a device or something in his hand, until she and Jesse started to engage in a low-key popcorn fight that was quickly broken up by Leon when the kernels started hitting him.

She settled back down and lifted Leon’s arm up so she could lean on his chest. After some shifting she was comfortable again with her head on him and one leg resting on Jesse’s lap. 

Vince got up and started making his way towards the kitchen. He paused to smack Leon and Jesse around a bit, playfully. He almost hit Ellie when he punched Leon in the chest. “Hey!” she exclaimed, throwing a handful of popcorn at him. 

He dodged the kernels with a laugh and disappeared into the kitchen. Leon’s arm came down over her chest as he continued to work on the device which turned out of be a part of one of his scanners. 

Her eyes drifted closed as she listened to Leon’s heartbeat and breathing. Life could not get much better than this. Her family was at peace. Everyone was getting along. It couldn't get any better than this.

A loud bang from above her made her jerk up and she tipped her head back to see what was going on. She saw Vince coming back from the kitchen. 

“There’s no popcorn?” Jesse asked.

“Make your own god damn popcorn!” Vince shouted at him as he stormed through the living room. 

Leon threw his toothpick at him as he stormed out the front door, slamming it behind him. 

Ellie stretched her arms out above her head, arching her back up off the floor as she did so. “I knew the peace was too good to last.” 

She turned over onto her side, facing Leon, and wrapped her arm around his torso. She pressed her face into the side of his neck and closed her eyes. 

The last thing she felt before she drifted off to sleep was Leon pressing his lips into her forehead gently. 

*~*~*~*~*

A little after midnight Mia decided to give Brian a ride back to Harry’s now that the details of their date were finalized.

She stepped into the living room first and paused by the sight in front of her. She turned to Brian and put a finger to her lips then pointed into the living room.

She took him by the hand and lead him further into the living room, stepping over the long legs that blocked the walk way. 

The movie was over, the TV was on the blue screen, Letty and Dom had left up to bed already. The only ones left in the living room were Jesse, Ellie and Leon. All three of them were sound asleep on the floor. Ellie was curled up into Leon’s side with her face tucked into his neck, Leon was asleep flat on his back with his head turned towards the girl beside him. Jesse was passed out on Ellie's other side with his arm thrown across her head. 

“Aren’t they sweet?” Brian whispered in mock sweetness. 

Mia giggled. “Shh. You’ll wake them up. I wondered why they were so quiet in here. They fell asleep.” 

She turned off the TV and switched the over head lamps on their way out of the room. The three on the floor would sleep until dawn and in the same position. They were something else.


	7. Chapter 7

Ellie was working on the Supra, she, Vince and Jesse were the only ones in the garage at the moment. Dom and Letty had disappeared to do whatever and Leon was running a few errands. 

Her cell phone started vibrating in the pocket of her coveralls and she pulled it out. “Yeah?” 

“Hey Alex,” said a man. 

“Hey Jamaal. What’s happenin’ man?” she asked, wedging the phone between her ear and shoulder as she worked on the transmission. 

“I got an update for ya and you’re not gonna like it,” he replied.

“What are you talkin’ about? Your boy doesn’t wanna play anymore?” she asked, her brows furring in confusion and concentration. 

“Nah, that’s not it at all, mama. Word on the street is you got a new guy workin’ with ya,” Jamaal said.

“No way, man. You’re boys have been inhaling way too much exhaust fumes,” she replied firmly. “Same number has it’s always been.” 

“What about Brian Earl Spilner?” 

Ellie laughed. “He’s not workin’ with us. He’s just some punk ass man that Dom befriended at the races a few weeks ago. He’s harmless.” 

“Harmless,” Jamaal echoed. “Girl, you might wanna check your facts. Did Jesse do a background check on him?” 

“Nah, man. We just let a complete stranger near our family without doing one. He could be a serial killer but who cares?” she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes at his stupidity. 

“That’s not funny, Alex,” Jamaal said seriously. “Did you know that he was picked up by the cops last week? The day after the races?” 

“That I did not know. He never said nothin’ about it,” she said, that made the hairs on the back of her neck raise up. “Where there any charges filed?” 

“No and that’s the funny thing. They didn’t take him to the police station and they dropped him off in the same place they arrested him from,” Jamaal said. “You know what they say. If it barks like a dog-” 

“Smells like a dog, chances are good it’s got fleas like a dog. I know,” she replied, setting her wrench down and taking the phone into her hand. 

“Exactly. This guy might have fleas,” he said. “He works at Harry’s and you’ve been havin’ friends getting parts for your cars. The cops are gonna come down on you guys like a ton of bricks. You better find out what this guy’s deal is before someone says the wrong thing.” 

“Okay, thanks for the heads up, J. Later.” She hung up the phone and spun around on her heel. “Yo!” 

Vince and Jesse turned around to look at her. Vince studied her face and read the words in her eyes. “What’s up? What did Jamaal say?” 

“We might have a rat in the nest,” she replied.

“I know,” Vince replied. “He just shows up and get Mia-” 

“We all get it V, you’re a jealous ass but this has got nothin’ to do with your inflated ego!” Ellie snapped. “It’s something way worse.” 

Vince stared at her. “You think he’s a cop?” 

She shrugged. “Or a Narc. Come on, we gotta find Dom.” 

*~*~*~*~*

Dom rubbed his head as he heard the concerns that Ellie was having about Brian’s activities when he’s away from the team. “Do you have any proof that he’s a cop?” 

“You know I don’t or I would have said something sooner,” she snapped. 

“Then all we have is your suspicions. That’s not enough to accuse him,” he replied firmly. 

“Alright, fine. I’ll level with ya, he’s not a cop. At worse he’s a narc,” she conceded. “Either way he could bring the entire wrath of both the FBI and the LAPD. We gotta watch our step.” 

“Yo, she’s right, Dom,” Leon said. 

“Look, how bout this? Hector went today to order the parts for the Civics. Why don’t we go see if he’s gonna case out the garage and see if he shows,” Ellie suggested. 

“And if he doesn’t?” Dom asked, looking up at her.

“Then I will be the first to apologize and admit that I was wrong. But I don’t think I am. Not about this guy,” she said. 

Dom nodded. “Good enough. Vince, you, me, Ellie and Jesse go to Hector’s and see what’s up. Leon, you stay here with Mia and Letty.” 

Leon nodded. “Yeah, got it.” 

“What do you want us to do if he does show up?” she asked him. 

“You know what to do,” he replied.

*~*~*~*~*

Ellie and Vince walked down the ally behind Hector’s garage with her 9 millimeter Berretta held out in front of her. The first thing that caught her eye was the distinctive red pick-up truck. She looked at Vince. “This doesn’t look good for him.” 

Vince clenched his jaw and his blue eyes darted around for a few moments before motioning for her to hide behind a stack of crates that lined the truck. 

He hide behind another stack across from her and held a single finger up, telling her to be quiet. She nodded her head slightly to show that she understood. 

They didn’t have to wait long before they heard the sounds of someone clamoring down the drainage pipe. 

Vince moved to strike, hitting the back of a blonde head with the stock of his rifle, Brian flew forward into the wall before hitting the ground, unconscious. 

Ellie came out from behind the crates with her gun raised. “It definitely doesn’t look good for him, does it? If he’s a cop, he’s not a very smart one.” 

Vince grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and started dragging him into a fenced across the ally from Hector’s garage. Ellie followed behind him, making sure that no one was watching them. 

He dropped Brian down on the ground and pointed his shotgun at him. “He moans like a cop.” 

She rolled her eyes, how the hell would he know what a cop moans like? She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Brian started to move around and show signs of coming around. He opened his eyes and held his hands up in defense.

Ellie pointed her gun at him. “I told you I smelled a rat.” Her eyes flicked up as Dom came out of the shadows. 

“Brian, this is one of those times when you need to be very clear about what you say,” he said calmly. “Nod if you understand me.” 

“NOD!” Vince yelled when Brian didn’t respond. He nodded slowly. 

“Sit up,” Dom ordered. Vince backed up slightly as Brian slowly sat up straight, rubbing the back of his head. “Tell me what the hell you’re doin’ down here.” 

“Oh, shit,” Brian murmured, rubbing the back of his head again. “What I’m doin’?” He seemed to be struggling to finding the right words. “Dom, I don’t--I owe you a 10 second car. And what this is about, this is about Race Wars.” Vince kicked him sideways, making him almost fall on top of Ellie, who stepped out of the way. 

She looked at Brian. “What about Race Wars?” 

“I just went in there, and Hector is gonna be runnin’ 4 Honda Civics with Spoon Engines. And on top of that, he just came into Harry’s and he ordered 4 T-66 turbos, with NOS, and a MoTeC system exhaust,” Brian explained.

Ellie exchanged looks with both Vince and Dom, she knew now that they had one of three things, a Narc, a cop or someone that’s smarter than her and spying on their competitors.

“So, what are you sayin’? You’re gonna go around and check everybody’s shit out, one garage after another?” Dom asked. 

Brian glanced at Ellie and Vince before slowly getting to his feet. “Yeah. Because Dom, you know, I can’t lose again.”

“He’s a cop!” Vince yelled. “He’s a cop!” 

Ellie studied Brian carefully. If he was a cop, then he was a fucking idiot, but she didn't think he was one. Right now he was sounding like a genius.

Dom studied Brian as he walked around him. “You a cop?” 

Brian shook his head. 

“You a narc, Brian?” Ellie asked. 

He stared at her and Vince grew impatient. “Answer her, Busta!” 

“No, I’m not an informant,” Brian said.

Ellie locked eyes with Dom and gave him a little nod before lowering her gun. 

Dom stepped up to Brian. “Let’s go for a little ride.” 

He walked past Brian towards the ally and Ellie followed him. “What do you think, Ellie?” Dom asked her. 

“I’m not sure just yet,” she told him lowly, glancing over her shoulder at Brian. “His excuse for bein’ down here sounds plausible but I’m not completely convinced he’s not a narc. I will give him the benefit of the doubt, for now.” 

Dom nodded. “Ride up front with Jesse, Ellie.” 

She stuck her gun into the small of her back and got in. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

They pulled up beside Tran’s garage and Ellie got out first. “Alex, you’re gonna need this,” Jesse called and tossed a small tool to her through the open window. She stuck it into the pocket of the leather jacket she was wearing. Actually, it was Leon's leather jacket.

She jogged over to the fence where Vince was waiting and he gave her a boost up to the top of the fence so she could climb over. She landed on the other side with the agility of a cat and ran over to the ladder on the garage that lead to the roof. She was already half way up by the time the guys caught up with her. 

“Damn,” she heard Brian whisper. “That girl is fast.” 

Once at the top she ran the length of the roof until she came to the vent duck she was looking for and crouch down beside it. She pulled out the drill that Jesse had tossed to her and started removing the screws, placing them in her pocket. 

Dom and the others caught up with her by the time she was done. She backed up and let them open the hatch, putting the drill back in her jacket.

Vince went down first and once he was clear Dom turned to Pandora. “Okay, Ellie. Go.” 

She stepped forward and hopped down through the vent. She grabbed onto the pipes that hung along the ceiling. She looked around for somewhere to land. Her legs weren’t long enough to reach the car on the lift. 

She swung herself a little bit and landed on the hood, with a soft thump. She spun around in the crouch position and hopped down into Vince’s extended arms. 

He placed her down on the floor and she pulled a mag-light out of the back pocket of her jeans to see the garage better. Her beam hit something that caught her attention immediately. 

She walked over to several Honda 2000s and shined her light in under the hood. “Yo, V,” she called over her shoulder. 

He walked over to her. “What?” 

She pointed with her light to the cars. “What’s wrong with this picture?” 

“Yo, Dominic,” he called to her brother.

Dom walked over to them. “There’s no engines,” Vince told him. 

“What are they planning on racing with? Hopes and dreams?” Dom asked. 

“I don’t know, but, something ain’t right,” Ellie said, shinning her light around the garage. “Tran’s got access to all the money in the world, why did he wait until the eve of the race to get engines and risk not being able to race."

“Yeah, they’re sneaky as shit,” Vince agreed. 

Dom’s phone started ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket. “What, Jess?” He quickly hung up. “Alright, we got company.” 

Ellie turned off her flashlight and ran with Vince to some cars in the back. “Spilner!” Dom shouted as the lights came on.

She crouched down behind a car and reached behind her for her gun. Cars and crotch rockets pulled into the garage.

She racked the slid of her gun and glanced to her right at Vince.

Tran started torturing Ted, some cheap fence, Ellie had heard of him but she never did business with him, for obvious reasons. She stayed crouched down low to stay out of sight.

Let this be lesson to Brian, if he was a narc, that it would best if he watched who he report on to the cops. 

Tran got the information he was looking for, the location of the engines. He could have found them somewhere else why torture the guy? 

Vince was looking through the back window of the car they were crouched behind to keep an eye on what was going on. She peeked out around the bumper and saw Ted laying out on the floor. 

Tran was ruthless and a narcissist he thought way too highly of himself. That's what made him so dangerous.

“Let’s go get our engines,” Tran announced.

Several engines roared to life and the lights dimmed as they drove off. 

Ellie was the first to stand up, tucking her gun back into her waist band. “Let’s get out of here before they come back.” 

"Yeah," Dom agreed, putting his gun away.


End file.
